The so-called chiquihuistes are baskets used for the harvest as well as to keep tamales or tortillas warm. This craft requires a lot of patience and skill; since the harvest of vegetable fiber (zanicax) is done in the forest. Subsequently, the zanicax must be dried, cleaned; and the wands must be cut in different sizes depending on the craft. In order to shape the crafts, artisans use their feet in the beginning and they finish with their hands.
The amate paper is made from the bark of the tree called jonote and in its pre-Hispanic origins had a ceremonial, ritual and political function. The amate paper is a clear example of the transformation that men and women have made of nature; their need and imagination led them to discover the great qualities and properties of everything around them.
Since pre-Hispanic times, the indigenous people of the Región Tecali Herrera have been artistically working with onyx; this tradition thrives due to the efforts of numerous family workshops of the community. The raw material is extracted from the quarries that abound in the region; each artisan transforms the materials into a great variety of gorgeous figures and decorative objects.
In the San Andrés Hueyapan community, the most valuable tradition that preserves is to create shawls embroidered with waist loom, dyed with natural colors from plants and species of the region. Artisans can make up a wide variety of garments such as shawls, cotones, embroidered blouses, sashes, shawls, jorongos, bedspreads, and rugs.
The production of the famous spheres of Chignahuapan began more than three decades ago, under the motivation of Rafael Méndez, who set up the first workshop with a few artisans. Currently, this industry employs hundreds of workers divided into various workshops who draw the lines and figures that make up this delicate craft.
